A BUDDHIST SÜTRA'S TRANSFORMATION INTO A DAOIST TEXT
Stephan Peter Bumbacher, Universities of Tübingen and Zürich
for Robert H. Gassmann, at his 60th birthday
Abstract
Daoism and Chinese Buddhism interacted in complex ways over the last two millenia. However, the precise nature of this two-way exchange still awaits a systematic investigation. Since the early 1980s, the Buddhist impact on lingbao-Daoism has become evident. Recently, it was suggested that the developing Daoist monasticism of fifth century Southern China may also have been influ¬ enced by the then already existing Buddhist one. Of special interest are Daoist texts that predate the lingbao-corpus and show some form of Buddhist influence as they might have had an impact on the latter. As a possible point of departure, an analysis of Yang Xi's adaptation of the Buddhist Forty-two sections of Buddhist sutras is offered. It shows that already a generation earlier than Ge Chaofu's lingbao scriptures Daoists not only had first hand knowledge of Buddhism but even made verbatim use of their scriptures to their own ends. As a by-product of this analysis, it is even possible to emend the received version of the Forty-two sections of Buddhist sutras where it apparently is defective.
1. Introduction
The first four centuries of the common era witnessed not only the arrival of some forms of Buddhism in China, this was also the formative period of several traditions of Daoism, the indigenous Chinese Hochreligion.1 Both were essen¬ tially different: whereas the Buddhists sought to get out of samsära by entering nirväna or final extinction, the Daoists aimed at becoming immortals - either earthly immortals who would live on on earth for centuries, now and then chang¬ ing their whereabouts and altering their social identities, or heavenly immortals who would ascend heaven in broad daylight in order to integrate themselves into the heavenly hierarchy.
1 An early version of this article was presented at the XVth EACS European Association of Chinese Studies Conference, Heidelberg, August 25-29, 2004.
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Nevertheless, from the very beginning both religions influenced each other in various and complex ways. One of the reasons for this was that both competed with each other to win influence on the élite. Quite often when a monk found himself immersed in a discussion with some members of the court or high offi¬ cials, he was confronted with Daoist notions and was asked whether or not the Buddhists had a similar concept. The same was true the other way round. The following example, taken from a Daoist source of the sixth century reporting events of earlier times, may give an impression of it:
Before that, when he (Lu Xiujing, [406-477]) had reached Jiujiang2, the Prince of Jiujiang asked about the pros and cons as well as identical and different [points between] Daoism and Buddhism. The Master answered: "In Buddhism there is the liu qin3, in Daoism there is the Jade Sovereign4; these, however, by different roads lead to the same result, and that is all." The princes and dukes praised [this as] good. [...] The Son of Heaven then commanded the 'minister of education', the Prince of Jian'an,5 and the 'director ofthe imperial secretariat', Yuan Can,6 to provide the ceremony of a large banquet, to set up a platform for summoning the worthies, to invite all the accom¬ plished gentlemen of the court, to widely gather the present-day [men of] excellence, and to assemble [them] at the Buddha-Monastery of the Ornament [of the Soul] (Zhuangyan Fo Si ÜtJSH^Tf)- At that occasion, the 'scholars of the dark talk' vigorously debated the He [shang gong] commentary [to the Daode jing]; the vastly learned sramanas [as their] opponents in discussion sharp-pointedly put forth [their counter-arguments]; argued back and forth the [teachings of] Laozi and [of] Sâkyamuni,7 competing in mutually questioning and arguing [against each other]. The Master marked [their] principles and disciplined [their] statements, untied [their] confusions and smoothed [their] sharp edges. The princes and dukes sighed and tapped in admiration, and those near and distant were pleased and submitted [to his arguments]. When the session was finished they submitted a report to the Lord ruling over the people8. Within ten days, [the emperor] again requested [that they] assemble, but this time in the 'Lodging-house of the Invited Worthies' in the [imperial]
2 Modern Jiujiang city, Jiangxi province. 3 SSI, although this seems to be a rather important expression - according to the fragment's context - I have not yet been able to identify it. As it is presented here in parallel with the Daoists' highest god ZEIL it accordingly should indicate the highest divine being in Bud¬ dhism. 4 3IM or HiiÉ-h'Sr, is the God of Heaven, ^-$, the chief of the Daoist pantheon, cf. Maspero 1981:88-91 et passim. 5 Liu Xiuren gljfrf— (432^470). His official biography is in Song shu 5^11, ed. Zhonghua shuju, Beijing 1974, 72.1871-1878. 6 420-477. Official biography in Song shu 89.2229-2234. 7 -$¥?, lit.: "Li" and "Shi". "Li" stands for Laozi, "Shi" is short for Shi jia mou ni ffafl^ m. 8 The emperor.
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Hualin [park]. The emperor went out to attend in person. When the princes and dukes had fully gathered, and the Master wearing a deer head-cloth, ascended [the throne-platform], in order to pay his respectful visit to the emperor, the Son of Heaven sat gravely with enhanced respect, and personally asked about the dao and inquired about the utmost object of veneration. The Master pointedly explained the 'gate of the mysteries'9, exhaustingly expounded samsara (?)10, and went to the infinitesimal as well as to all patterns of the mysterious without exception. The emperor's heart was pleased about it. The princes and dukes, too, asked: "We have not heard the Daoists (tMM) explaining the 'three periods'11." The Master replied: "The scripture says: 'I don't know whose son [it]12 is, [but] it images the forefather of God.'13 When there already is a before, there presumably will be an after. When there is a before and an after, there will presumably be a middle. Zhuangzi says: 'No sooner is one born than one is dying.'14 Both these [quotations] elucidate the three periods. But their words are terse and their principles are mysterious [so] the world was not yet able to apprehend it!" While the emperor15 wanted to compel him [to stay] by [bestowing on him] honours, the Master gazed into the distance and was not interested16. [...]17
In such situations Daoists had to know Buddhist concepts and had to be able to relate them to their own ones. Similarly, Buddhists had to be acquainted with Daoist notions. Both picked up and adopted aspects of the other's systems as it seemed suitable. We should not forget that there also existed an economic com¬ petition between both over the control of ritual services which "certainly resulted in much of the shared vocabulary and doctrinal coincidence we find in the texts left to us".18 A culmination was reached when the Daoist lingbao-(WLli.) tradi¬ tion towards the end of the fourth century AD almost wholesale copied Buddhist sütras into texts of their own corpus.19
9 This may be an allusion to Daodejing Al and thus a metaphor for the dao. 10 WiMi- I have not yet found another reference for this expression. Probably öfjifE stands for ÖSEÜ, the usual Chinese translation of the term samsara. 11 HtË, refers to the principle of karmic retribution which is known as JEtËH JP;> "cause and effect of the three periods", which sets the retributive sequence through past, present and fu¬ ture. 12 S.C.: the dao. 13 Daode jing A4. 14 Zhuangzi 2. 15 $f!SJ. original meaning "the Court", here obviously used in a derived meaning: the inhabi¬ tant of the court, the emperor. 16 ^PH, lit.: "did not turn [his] head". 17 Daoxue zhuan jJl-PW ap. Sandong zhu'nang LELM^-M HY 1131, 2.5a7-6b7, translated in Bumbacher 2000:209-214. 18 Bokenkamp 2004:331. 19 Bokenkamp 2004 and 1990:126f.
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While the investigation of the history of Buddho-Daoist interactions still is a desideratum, we should like to offer in the following but a small contribution to this wide and vastly and unexplored field.
2. The Buddhist version of the f$|f0+^¥ Forty-two sections ofBuddhist sütras
The Sütra of Forty-two sections H^—îj£|5 is traditionally considered the oldest extant Chinese Buddhist text. In fact, this is already hinted at in the first chapter of Huijiao's (497-554) HâJ Gaoseng zhuan MM19- (Biographies of eminent Buddhist monks), where it is said that Käsyapa Mätahga during the reign of Han Mingdi (r. 57-75) came to China as "the first of the sramanas in China" (tHifeW^Hâ^pIË,) but did not preach as there were not yet any con¬ verts mXìèWm^mM. ®MM$mMfftMm - and "according to a record translated the Sütra of Forty-two sections in one juan" fätßjx- MWÏÏB -|-Z1^,|M—"^).20 The claim is, however, made explicit in Gaoseng zhuan's biography of Dharmaratna. Here we learn that of the first five Buddhist texts originally brought to China only the Sütra of Forty-two sections actually still exists, containing roughly two thousand words, of all sütras extant on Chinese soil this is the first one (BÌ0+-*II^Mffi. «J -I^W- W&MM^ m. «nfétiî).21 This received title is, however, not only not the original one but it is also misleading. Sütras usually begin with the opening formula "thus I have heard" ($nitfc$cM) which then is followed by a statement of the form "once the Enlightened One was preaching at such-and-such a place" to which the list of the most prominent members of his audience is added. While our text also begins with a kind of introduction, its form is entirely different from the traditional opening sequence of a sûtra, as will be shown shortly. In fact, not only all early references call our text f^|M|Z3-f-Zl^ (Forty-two sections of Buddhist sütras) or similar22, but the text itself refers to "forty-two sections" as it says: "They wrote down (or: copied) forty-two sections of selected Buddhist sütras" (MM.
20 Gaoseng zhuan HJfffë 750.2059:322cf. 21 Ibid.:323a. 22 E.g., Mouzi #-=p ap. Hongming ji Ch^MM T 52.2102:4c, Zhen gao HY 1010:9.20a, comm. Shishuo xinyu täl8;$fia. Taipei 1974:53.
AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 A Buddhist sütra's Transformation into a Daoist Text 803 f^llH-hZl^).23 The designation sütra or jing #1 seems to have been given to this text during the Tang dynasty, in order to make evident the prestige of this text also in its title. The earliest extant edition24 apparently is that of the Korean Buddhist canon of 125125 on which the Taisho shinshû daizokyo edition, edited by Taka¬ kusu Junjiro, Tokyo 1924-1932, is based. The text consists of two parts of unequal length, namely an introductory narrative relating Han Emperor Ming's famous dream of a golden person sur¬ rounded by a halo who flew to his palace and who was later identified as the Buddha. Upon learning who this golden person was, the emperor spiritually awoke and sent messengers to the west who eventually brought the text to China. As a consequence of which stüpas and monasteries were erected and Buddhism vastly expanded. The second part of the text, on the other hand, con¬ tains forty-two sections including the Buddha's instructions on precepts, proper conduct and ethical behaviour to be observed by the monks. Both parts seem to have originated at different times. Most scholars agree that the introductory narrative must have been written after the Han dynasty but before ca. AD 300, most probably around 250.26 The main text, however, must be older: There exists indeed an unmarked early quotation in the famous memo¬ rial submitted by the scholar Xiang Kai Ü$§ in AD 166.27 It may be useful to give the relevant phrases in a synopsis:
Synopsis ofthe relevant phrases ofXiang Kai's memorial and the corresponding passage ofthe received version ofthe Forty-two sections of Buddhist sütras
HHS mmiLX UtC • WM BitiS. 3tt£lfil 42 mm ^t&MwmMnmmm \% w ¥«&«
23 Sishier zhang jing m+~^M T 17.784:722a. 24 On the editions of the Sishier zhang jing cf. T'ang 1936:147-155. 25 On the Korean Buddhist canon, cf. Lancaster 1979:ix-xvii. 26 Zürcher 1959:22. 27 Hou Han shu fëWkW 30B:1082. Zürcher speaks of "two quotations from the 'Sûtra in Forty-two Sections'" (ZÜRCHER 1959:38). However, the second "quotation", in my view at least, deviates too much from the corresponding sentence in the Buddhist original to be termed a quotation. The original sentence reads: "[the shamen] under a mulberry tree stays over night once" fêfT-?1> whereas Xiang Kai's memorial has: "The Buddha did not sleep three nights under the [same] mulberry tree" #JÜ ^HfÜljlT-
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Xiang Kai's sentences may be rendered as: "A heavenly spirit presented [him] with a beautiful girl, [but] the Buddha said: 'This is no more than a bag of skin filled with blood.'" The received version of the Forty-two sections, on the other hand, reads: "A heavenly spirit offered a jade girl to the Buddha, wanting to test the Buddha's mind and examine the Buddha's Way. [But] the Buddha said: 'This is no more than a bag of skin full of dirt.'" Provided that Xiang Kai is quoting literally - which by no means can be taken as for granted - and given the present state of knowledge, we cannot decide whether he has abridged the text or whether the additional phrases in the received version are later interpolations. Be it as it may, collating both versions we notice immediately two things: firstly, Xiang Kai's quotation still uses the term fou tu T^JÜ as the very early transliteration for Buddha which later became fo \% in Chinese. And secondly, the textus receptus differs in a few instances from the earlier one. In any case, this quotation would provide us with a terminus ante quern for the main text in its original form, namely AD 166.
3. Introductory narrative
The earliest direct quotation of the introductory narrative is to be found in Seng- you's ittlfé Chu sanzang ji ji îuHUÊf5ft (Collection of excerpts from the Tripitaka), first published in 515 and revised in 518, which calls it a "preface" ff.2S Collation of the received version and that of the Chu sanzang jiji (CSZJJ, for short) reveals that both are identical except two characters: the name Fu Yi flfIx is in the CSZJJ given as Chuan Yi AJtä and the received version has a di ü in the expression ^H-pHSHiS11^ which is lacking in CSZ/J:
Synopsis ofthe received version ofthe introductory narrative and CSZJJ's version
cszjj gm&w&ft. mß-fmx. Jiüw^fi. «wb*. fFtaasm. m^nx
42 m. %&z. «BNffirg. itmmm. WMxmms. ehr* im cszjj «. »ai. wnrmm. ttmmm. wrnxmrns. em^* wî#
28 Chu sanzang jiji 6.42c For an early investigation of this part of the text cf. Maspero 1910.
AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 A Buddhist sütra ' s Transformation into a Daoist Text 805
42 mm. vtBm. mmmm. mmmm. nm±m. svmmmmem* cszjj mm. WEH». WMBJR. %IW£Wtì. S^tm HSne^MRWM1
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If the textus receptus of this narrative section represented indeed the original text, the CSZJJ ought to be considered a trustful witness. However, turning to the indirect quotations it becomes evident that the original version of this intro¬ ductory narrative must have been different from the received version and that, most probably, the latter was at some time altered on the basis of the CSZJJ ver¬ sion. There are two early indirect quotations. One is integrated into the Buddhist Mouzi or, more precisely, Mouzi's Lihuo lun ^¦-f'M.W.WS (Master Mou, On removing the doubts), the other is contained within the Daoist Zhen gao JfHn (Declarations of the perfected). As to the Mouzi, its date of composition is still not quite clear. The Mouzi is preserved in Sengyou's fife (435-518) Hong¬ ming ji uîÂ^JII (Collection of [essays relating the] expansion and elucidation [of Buddhism]).29 As the Mouzi refers to Prince Sudäna whose story is taken from the Vessantara jätaka30 the earliest version of which was translated into Chinese some time between 247 and 280,31 this gives us a datum post quern. On the other hand, the Mouzi was included in Lu Cheng's MM (425^94) collec¬ tion of Chinese Buddhist literature, the Fa lun Öcfro which was compiled shortly after 465.32 So it must have been written somewhere between 247 and 465. However, we were able to gather evidence that the received version of the Mouzi may have been altered at some time during its transmission. There exist
29 Hongming ji lb-7a, especially 4c. 30 Keenan 1994:106. 31 Zürcher 1959:14. 32 Zürcher 1959:13.
AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 806 Stephan P. Bumbacher three Mouzi quotations which, including by chance the passage which is relevant for our purposes, differ from the received version: The first is to be found in Liu Jun's §PJlfc£ (462-521) commentary to Liu Yiqing's fflUlJÄ (403-444) Shishuo xinyu tftiftfffÜ (New account of tales of the world).33 The second appears in Li Shan's $!§ (c. 630-689) comment¬ ary to Xiao Tong's M$t (501-531) Wen Xuan £H (Selections of [refined] literature)34 which was also copied into the Taiping yulan35. The most important quotation, however, is that in the anonymous Lidaifa bao ji JH f^tèff IB (His¬ torical record of the law)36 of ca. 780. It contains phrases that are no longer seen in the textus receptus of the Mouzi but appear, at least partially, also in the Shishuo xinyu quotation or in the Wen xuan quotation, which makes it quite likely that these sentences were part of the original Mouzi - and not interpola¬ tions of the Lidaifa bao ji - but were later either deliberately eliminated or acci¬ dentally lost. This is, at least in my view, a clear indication that the Mouzi has been subject to alterations during its transmission. Let us present in a synopsis the passage as preserved in the received Mouzi, the MoMzf-quotation of the Shishuo xinyu commentary, that of the Wen xuan commentary and the MowzZ-quotation of the Lidaifa bao ji:
Synopsis o/Lihuo lun passage and its quotations in three later sources
LHL #^h. # m m 9E mX. JHfBft. m. ssxY ^H: m m & ¥ mx. #wb* WX ^=f-B: M *M ¥% /WA, â-WB*, us« ldfbj £^s. g m m m m ¥& mX. âWB3fc. m«
LHL mm. f$.i* mz. HjB mmms.. atmmm. ssxY BEB »pape, wx mm. wmtg.. ldfbj mm. m^ am&. 33 Shishuo xinyu, loc. cit. 34 Wen Xuan 59.8a. 35 Taiping yulan 653:4b. 36 Lidaifa bao ji 179c. AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 A Buddhist sütra's Transformation into a Daoist Text 807 LHL w m xmst b. EM^^wff mm. §^Sf*. m SSXY m xmmm b-. era^*w mm. weh», mmm m LDFBJ * mm$ xmm. a. ew^*w« mm. RS«. IM* m LHL frits. #WB3t. wto%mfe. nm±m. a+ipnif. SSXY jmcb*. ?&»s»m. »ft LDFBJ ». #wb*. mmm>. «ft±*. aa LHL +AA. n XR%. % SSXY mmwm n±%:?5.mm +-A. £ xn$m. % LDFBJ +rA. Xft-ìl. % LHL SSXY LDFBJ ffiM»Eän+E. ßPBt^^«aürwe LHL SSXY LDFBJ LHL ». RHRK Fltffl» ft. 0J* B9. Ml SSXY LDFBJ S. sœ nfcfWWB ft. ^ffi at. fcrôrfà«. LHL WS S. MB$feX±flHMML BfSilR^. SSU SSXY LDFBJ us. » b. wmm&kftmm. n^m ethmr^. mm LHL ss. SSXY LDFBJ s*. &#»«. eheìé*. Jìutfltft. «ciâsm gem ä LHL SSXY LDFBJ i&£LRmm&&^im. mm&tm% Whereas both the Shishuo xinyu commentary and the Wen xuan commentary are abridging the text they are quoting but, on the other hand, are complementing each other, it is the Lidaifa baoji which gives the passage in full. We may now AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 808 Stephan P. Bumbacher attempt to tentatively reconstruct the original version of the Lihuo lun passage in question: Tentative reconstruction ofthe Lihuo lun passage ifca The other early indirect quotation of the introductory narrative of the Forty-two sections appears among the Daoist Yang Xi's ^§ü (330-386?) texts - written between AD 364 and 370 - that were collected by Tao Hongjing [>!§!iAIPi (456- 536) in his Zhen gao Use (Declarations of the perfected) of 499. The Zhen gao is divided into seven books with a further subdivision into 20 ^§j juan. The first five books, or juan 1-16, collect what the Perfected had re¬ vealed to the Daoist medium and "private religious specialist" to the Xu ff family, Yang Xi H§ü (330-?) during the years 364-370. The sixth book con¬ tains letters, memoranda, and accounts of dreams recorded by Yang and the Xu family members themselves, "while they still dwelt in the world of men"37. Whereas the texts preserved within the first six books are all accompanied by Tao Hongjings's running commentary, the seventh book represents Tao's own editorial preface, in which he gives "a meticulous account of the manuscript components of the work", his "reconstruction of their textual history, and a rea¬ soned genealogy of the Xu family".38 In juan nine we find the introductory narrative of the Forty-two sections. In his commentary to the passage, Tao Hongjing asserts that it is identical with the Buddhist text (wai shu ^ffl): ithiÄffll^l^SBq]- We will now have to assess this statement. 37 Strickmann 1977:4. 38 Loc. cit. AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 A Buddhist sütra's Transformation into a Daoist Text 809 Collating the Zhen gao version of the introductory narrative with the re¬ ceived version of the Forty-two sections we indeed find that, on the one hand, both versions agree to a large extent but, on the other, that there exists a series of differences between both: Synopsis ofthe received Forty-two sections and the Zhen gao versions ofthe introductory narrative 42 # ìmmm. m wmx. mt wäo. «wb zg mmwm. m wmmx. % ä*a. m±m 42 3t. m&mm. ** «ür. a fê£. ms vm&. zg 3t. flt&Rffi. um nz. m mmm. 42 w ìiawis a. ehr*. wt#m kb«. worn ZG ìlAflffSSf S. EMA^S. Wf#a#. *H«U. ffNMË 42 mo mm mm, tm ± is. spia&fig* ZG mfTo tfOTÈo % £»¥. =$75 S. !PÄffi«5S« 42 wvt* vm **. w±m? bh?+-a. sa^^h. s zg ^# gfs **. «± euh-ha. ^aüäh. m m zg mmw-r-=.m. amxB^. m-vm. spb# *B»»«ffirw- 42 mm. nmmmwm. mmrn ##&#. 42 zg fi. ää^sb. ?«#$. %Mmm. mm±fffi&. mm. sak$. 42 mxim. mm&gm. ^pjfgièH^-/f zg ìa^sft. mn&m. mm&m. jâg^Rf:?. 42 *. ^mzm. «Asm ZG ^^m AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 810 Stephan P. Bumbacher This synopsis shows whole phrases that do occur in the Zhen gao but are absent in the received Buddhist version. Are these interpolations made by Yang Xi's hand? Of special interest are two sentences, namely: 1) The second phrase of fäiföjj&M, AJ&^PSKI "they made an image of the shape of the Buddha, and a picture of Haritï". Note that the name guizimu J^-FS or Haritï is not found in the Daoist literature, while it is quite prominent in the Buddhist texts from the Samyuktägama to the Lotus sûtra. Haritï was "a woman who having vowed to devour all the babies at Rädjagrha was reborn as a female ghost (râksasî), and gave birth to 500 children, one of which she was to devour every day. Converted by Sâkyamuni she entered a convent. Her image is to be seen in all nunneries."39 According to the CSZJJ there existed also a Haritï sütra. It is, therefore, quite likely that the "portrait of Härifi" must have already been in the version of the Forty-two sections of Buddhist sütras Yang Xi was using but in later versions was eliminated for unknown reasons. We thus may emend the received Forty-two sections ofBuddhist sütras accordingly. 2) The second sentence that is unique in Yang Xi's version reads: f^ftljfc tpM- #n EPü ^ Bf 5 "that pictures of the Buddha came to China started from Mingdi's time on". These phrases could be both, either a comment added by Yang Xi himself, or it could have been part of the early version of the Forty-two sections which was dropped (or lost) in later versions. Apart from some variorum readings, all other apparent additions are most likely not expansions or complements made by Yang Xi - they may rather represent an earlier state of the text, still including parts that were discarded in later versions of the Buddhist version. To test this hypothesis, let us collate Yang Xi's version (ZG) with the reconstructed Mouzi version (LHL r) and with the Buddhist textus receptus (42). Synopsis of the received Forty-two sections, the Lihuo lun and the Zhen gao versions ofthe introductory narrative 42 wm rnwm^. & 9MMX. mm w^fe. m LHLr mm) mwmzr. (m &mx.& zg m mwMïï wmx. # h^a. m 39 Eitel 1904:62f. AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 A Buddhist sütra's Transformation into a Daoist Text 811 42 ^B3t. m&nm. m* f&m. LHLr ^B3t. m&mm. <ä^> am <*. 42 rape. * A. ff« B. LHLr rapg. JttfSMW-Ë. W <*£> A «IS (®) B. ZG piffle. x. mm B. 42 EHA^ ftffflt*. MB«. * ti LHLr EMA^ mm*. kb#. < frit zg EHA^i «mt«. KB», w fr. 42 ± BP LHLr 25 pWB3t. fern KMH& »A ± S^gPI ZG 3?^ 42 tt* WS LHLr ft. < ffi IÄ 33WÎI3 ZG ffi* Bt. 9H4V W± B 42 + -A S Aß 5 LHLr <-> + (A) < -) A. (m < Z) Xn (£) < ft zg + HA. £ Aß ft 42 ffi LHLr l> S+HM. ZG I. S 42 g &JÖ£#. ^Jtil&of^. LHLr BP > Bf 5* ftftttäSlt PW ZG IP Bfffi »HM£S rwatft 42 mmm & mm. LHLr mm. fô%mm am) Ttmmm&EM. xs*mg zg ä mm. RV-m-g AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 812 Stephan P. Bumbacher 42 LHLr t»I. RWMffl"l± ft. * 42 LHLr Bf. <ä^ um. > mi si*RB. Md. ftnn±tt zg m im. % wm. mmüdfc 42 mxi/tit. LHLr ft. <^*«> fff. HÎIK^. iSHÏÏIÏ. AlÖfc ZG ft Bf. SMS$. 42 T-äjmm. LHLr 5» > iLxmmM. tmBnm. &mz ZG mmm 42 LHLr tt. Koc&tìSiitiii»*«^««^. mm&ttm$ ZG mn%.^m. 42 m^rnm. ^mzm. m&gm T^m LHLr zg tä&imvm. This synopsis reveals that certain phrases that are lacking in the introductory narrative of the received Forty-two sections but are to be seen in the Zhen gao and could, accordingly, be considered inventions made by Yang Xi in fact also occur in the Lihuo lun. They, therefore, most certainly must have been part of the original version. These phrases include: Ü^ É3 Tfc "his body has a white light [surrounding it]", IBMÄH^ "he secreted [it] in the Stone Chamber at Lantai [in Luoyang]", then ^.t^WBWMMi^i^MiÈ. "moreover, he had an image of the Buddha's shape made in the Qingjing tower of the Southern Palace" and, finally, the passage fi?«*«. fògUBt »f&±fF*f$Jt ^H^SSS^ "the Emperor's influence is not a constant one. [Therefore,] he earlier had [his] tomb built [in preparation for his death] and on top of [its] temple he had an image of the Buddha made. During that time, the realm prospered and the people were at peace." AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 A Buddhist sütra's Transformation into a Daoist Text 813 However, we still are left with the Zhen gao phrases W^M§A- JHÜTn "in a dream he saw a spirit person [whose] body was 'of the ten feet measure six times' long". As the awkwardness of this English translation indicates, there must be something wrong with the second part of this passage. In fact, measures such as chang 5t (ten feet) are usually preceded by the numeral. The correct reading of this passage which, as its source is older than the Zhen gao, corroborates the hypothesis that the Zhen gao has not expanded the text but kept to its source, can be found in another text: In the late years of the third or the first years of the fourth century a certain Wang Fou zEì? compiled a work entitled Hua hu jing ftSQfl (Scripture of the conversion of the barbarians), originally in one juan.40 In one of the preserved fragments, to be found in Zhen Luan's MM (A- 570) Xiao dao lun ^MIffl (On laughing at Dao[ism]),41 an indirect quotation of our text is to be seen which says: B^^^Jji^A- S~~5t 7\R. "Emperor Ming in a dream saw a spirit person [whose] body was sixteen feet (one chang and six chi) long".42 If this indeed represents the original reading, then - due to a scribal error - in the Zhen gao version the numeral yi — must have been lost during its transmission process. We have thus good reason to believe that both the (reconstructed) Lihuo lun and the Zhen gao still have the original text of the introductory narrative of the Forty-two sections, although abbreviated. We may thus venture to suggest a reconstruction of the narrative part of the Forty-two sections. 4. Reconstruction of the introductory narrative Based on the received version of the Forty-two sections, the reconstructed Lihuo lun, the Zhen gao and CSZJJ the following reconstruction can be proposed which we put side by side with the textus receptus: 40 On this text and its complex development until it was destroyed on imperial demand and on its author cf. Zürcher 1959:293-298. 41 A complete English translation with introduction was published by Kohn 1995. For a reveiw, cf. Bumbacher 1996. 42 Xiao dao lun ap. Guang hong mingji A5ÌA0Jft T52.2103.147c. AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 814 Stephan P. Bumbacher Proposed reconstruction ofthe Received Chinese text (T 784) Chinese text dtfc* ifc Vi ta <ì m^. gClMUIA. MM ml= '¦mm^. ^M/WA- #ÜW &ô. MB#. 3PHËJR1W. ^tt fnffi»8&. m^axrn 43 It cannot be ruled out that the phrase W^fe is a later interpolation as it only occurs in the received Forty-two sections and in the CSZJJ. 44 Preferring the lectio difficilior Z over the lectio facilior Jg. 45 Instead of ÏZ/W^F the received Forty-two sections and CSZJJ have AJÇ#. fôftîlffi Öit-ffj. ÄÄff§, which might well be a later interpolation. AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 A Buddhist sütra ' s Transformation into a Daoist Text 815 We now have to ask how Yang Xi has dealt with this narrative part of the Forty- two sections. Collating both the reconstructed version of the narrative part and its quotation in the Zhen gao makes evident that Yang Xi's version shows alterations only at four insignificant, as it seems, places. The phrase Ipt^f B 3fc "the nape of [his] neck had a sunny light [surrounding it]" became IjSzÊIH^ "the nape of [his] neck brought forth a nimbus" (reading IHtÊIE for Mit, which - as the nimbus was introduced into China by the Buddhists - may even preserve an earlier reading of the Buddhist version than its reconstruction). In Yang's version the emperor does not ask "all ministers" (i¥E) but he asks "the court" (füg) about his dream. Then after the phrase Wf#?I#• S80#Ê "[• • •] there is someone who has obtained the Way. [His] name is Fo" Yang inserted ff Hfl "Fu [Yi] has [further] heard that [...]". And finally, the passage UM\% ,f«s|Z9-[-~iJL "they copied forty-two sections of selected Buddhist sütras" he changed into ^^fÜl|Z3-r-~^ "they selected and copied forty-two sections of Buddhist sütras", thus emphasizing even stronger what the reader of the Forty-two sections has sensed anyway: that the main body of the text must be some sort of pastiche compiled from various Buddhists texts. In other words, Yang saw no necessity to change much of this Buddhist text whose religious provenance was evident anyway. He rather omitted parts not considered relevant for his purposes. Accordingly, the main differences be¬ tween both versions consist of a series of abbreviations Yang Xi had made. That the Zhen gao version lacks the phrase W^fe "[whose body] had a golden hue" does not necessarily mean that Yang Xi purged it. It is well possible, as mentioned earlier, that this phrase is a later interpolation. On the other hand, most probably intentional omissions include passages like J-^ÄIIJsfUÖT'^l ilüinAE "on its walls they painted the emperor, a thousand chariots and ten thousand riders [who] were circumambulating the stüpa three times" and S. Mi^MP^-t "as well as above the Kaiyang wall gate [they made images]" that provide the reader with specific information concerning localities in northern China, in and around the capital Luoyang. As Yang Xi delivered his writings to an audience resident in southern China, such detailed descriptions of sites from another part of the country that, furthermore, was no longer accessible as it now was under the control of foreigners, may not have been considered of great inter¬ est. The other pieces of the text disregarded by Yang comprise sentences that discribe the positive effects Buddhism had on the barbarians, such as USc^Üif fê "[the foreign tribes] came altogether and returned to virtue", or £J,MWL9k "[those who wished to serve the Buddha] were considered amounting to more AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 816 Stephan P. Bumbacher than a hundred thousand" and they contain phrases characterizing the development of Buddhism on Chinese soil like t^iêH^tiî. ÉU/i^lfâ- ~M #&&&ftHI«*£W##. mm&lkhmW. "therefore, [the Emperor] was given the posthumous title 'the enlighted' (ming). After this time, everywhere [in] the neighbourhood of the capital as well as in the regions and districts every [place] had [its] Buddhist monastery, the learners [of the dharma] hence increased" and gftM^- ^BZM- Kü^ll- Ì^^M, "the interior of the country became pure and tranquil and [all] kinds of sentient beings received [this] favour with gratitude and obtained [something they could] trust to. Until today it has not ceased to be so". In analysing the narrative part of the Forty-two sections we in fact did not so much detect a new or specific Daoist reading of it - but thanks to this very early quotation in a Daoist text we were able to emend the received version and reconstruct the original one. Things, however, change considerably when we now turn towards the main textual body of the Forty-two sections. 5. Main text As early as in 1933 Hu Shih identified twenty sections of the Sütra of 42 sections as also appearing in the Zhen gao Hon and presented thirteen of them side by side with their Daoist counterpart.46 In 1936 T'ang Yung-t'ung ì$}Wifé> observed that, in fact, almost half of the main body of the Buddhist text can also be found in the Zhen gao.47 However, close examination of the Zhen gao reveals that it does not contain twenty, as Hu and T'ang maintained, but, in fact, twenty-five sections. Also note that both apparently overlooked (or did not take into account) that the introductory narrative, as we have seen, also can be found in the Zhen gao, although in a different chapter. In general, T'ang was not interested in the Daoist aspects of these "borrowings" but he used the Zhen gao version to show that the Korean edition of Forty-two sections of Buddhist sütras preserves an earlier reading than the other editions he investigated. Later, Isabelle Robinet as well as Stephen 46 Hu no date 1:155-176. 47 T'ang 1936:147-155. AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 A Buddhist sütra ' s Transformation into a Daoist Text 817 Bokenkamp mentioned the Zhen gao's connection with the Forty-two sections, although without examining in any detail the relationship between the two.48 6. The Daoist version In juan six of the Zhen gao almost half of the main text of the Forty-two sections is to be found, although in an edited version. Differences and identical passages will become immediately obvious when we list both texts in a synopsis, which is arranged according to the Zhen gao sequence of the sections: Synopsis ofthe main part ofthe 42 Sections of Buddhist Scriptures and the Zhen gao49 Section 35 42 mn. Af§ìf#^. T^mmft^. «Ag^s^. &%mm. zg süwämsb. Aitila, ^wmwg. ttAg^s^. g^s#t. 42 g^s^E. ä^s*. ^mmm. §&&&. #mm zg ÜJJ-M5E. &gjm. ùw&im. £5Em xmm. m^&m^z 42 zg #& mm^m. mm?#m. ^ssa«. mmmm. mums. ®ù 42 zg m m^mm. ft^zmfc. Section 42 42 mm. n mmmzGL. mm&. m&*z*. zum^. mxmzi?. m zg mmmzii. mm&. m&sz*. mwa. wmm ta 42 »ft. zg n%m tè^mamm^. 48 Robinet 1984,1:87; 11:336. In 11:338 there is no mention of the dream of Emperor Ming as to be found in the Forty-two sections, although it is mentioned in vol. I, loc. cit. Boken¬ kamp 1986:141. Yoshioka 1971 was not available to me. 49 ZG 6.6a-10a. Tao Hongjing's interspersed commentaries are excluded. AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 818 Stephan P. Bumbacher Section 40 42 mm. x mmmmm&zm. mrnim. —m zg ^üwäsb. xz mmmmmtzmm. mmim. —m 42 z #wfiBt. m m m&fe. zg z. #wfiBf. mm- m. #w m$. mm mm&. Section 41 42 mm. Bwfifîat ma ttrmwp. ms^mssm- mm zg 5L mm ^mn.fim<$. mm^m&^m. mwm 42 mus DEA. OTMMnt g^sss. B-L^a. ora««. zg mx me.. m±mmm. msom*. frb&t. 1$%$%. mm 42 ZG &. Section 36 42 mm. AAHHSìiifmxm. mmx. ì£spj§jbé. zg mWSM^B. &UtHlEamA>JHk Kf#SA. äftflUMHk 42 RffftH. Alf £JU|. AflfEJl, £*»!£. ßSßS^ ZG mm%. AitHü £jm& AlfBtÄ. f# £^fflï§til. ffisS^ 42 a. mmm m m. smmm mmmzmm. ±^m zg m. liw ìt^sas «uè. rot ïïwîi^s £*££ 42 ». BE£3K£. J&kffH*. zg **»&*&. »ù^a 42 zg ffl&tBJl£*S&. ffiffMt§Ä£. fBA^ÌJg^ìi^iÉtì. «FFS«. Section 37 42 # MM&n. A^ffiS Hfl. ®B. ffiSB fffl. f* zg aa raaAB. a^ösb ra. m ms. imuz ra. a± 42 H. ^*fgï§it. « ra--Wi. A^ffiÄ ffi. tl H. ffil zg ia. ^mmrn. mm s. A^ffilSÄi ra. A± H. 42 rai»^ mmm.. ti -WI. A^ffi^ra. WH. «2 ZG ?££. *ffiîm $ WH. ffi D?IS^ AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 A Buddhist sütra's Transformation into a Daoist Text 819 42 ra. m m. mm. mmat**- zg ra. a± h. mm. mtMmm&. guitta, ^éuh*. ^mm 42 zg m. jmzMvm. Section 38 42 mm. %ttim m =p m.m± s*. #** ZG m^Slìg [ »] ^H M. «M* S«. äff»*. W3E 42 ffigfc«. SffiïP. U^îfÎE Ä*ffi zg g»*. &mm. «sa»*, m&sm. &*mê&. 42 fy. ifiM^fî. MSÄ^W. ZG Section 39 42 «w. a sa wm-km. *&m. wëjm. zg a^ sam&sfrat**. ssäs. anwïB. 42 x«««. fr **§&£. zg AlflF«*. MWIâ*. të fT$njtt *#&£. Section 4 42 m m. xm%M. rougis. mt$U/. mm zg xi&Mxmmmwi^ b. x^&m. ffiPFg«. ®±#<ù. m^m 42 Mr. mmwrn. ëimm&. %ma n. zmmm. mumm, m zg b. mmms. Bj&mœ. «sa #. «usé«, p«»«. * 42 ffilill. zg natte. Section 5 42 m AJUSTA*». SJUE99S. »«¥£• afitiRfe*- g zg * Aaatói»*. 42 mj^#ft. mmzm.. ^s jttte. wf«#t. ssm zg burnii. jt& mmzm. ssm st. mn&m. mm&. ttm 42 zg mzfife. AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 820 Stephan P. Bumbacher Section 7 42 m m. Bxmum. mwmm. !^T5A. ÜteB â-. zg xs a. mxmw. »pam*. l^féA. S»B [ W) 42 mimx. ^oj^. äkBÄBte. zg iËass. FF»«. Iffit*. Section 9 42 m m. isjiAH. ^$nig-#A. issai1. ^mwm^Mm- zg AlÉïfA S. ISJiAW. ^$PI5-»A. «5«AT- TantE-SîI*. 42 A. murnsm. ^wj^MZj&mx-w. zg mmiuiïm. stemmm. 42 -f|. ftA«. ^ftfigH^E*WSX3WUÊte. IS»A. ÎIA?m RAI ZG 42 Attìgui*. ^tamnm^. -Quitte. ZG Section 10 42 mm. atweïi. nmwm. ZG «7c*A£H. ATW5Ü. MMOHtte- 42 m&mmm. ±mm mm. zg tk. ttj&fiiiBtte. ^fïïsfâ^ ts»te. Section 11 42 mm ra#. &. fàimm. ^ma «$. zg a^ ra*±. fàimm 3PP A±g H. 42 tejf^. JOZMA mmm. fe&m. wsmm. mm zg «^ ^Q^teê. rnmrn. m&m. spéjës. wa 42 *fQ. ftfeftg. zg it. ^m. ftm&z Section 17 42 mm. -str» âatmt. ZG XH. ^ìlfTÌIfim. AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 A Buddhist sütra's Transformation into a Daoist Text 821 Section 14 42 mm. a tmnm xxm ZG ^«AA^H. mn xxm 42 s. «um. mmm. f#«^m. ZG #. «BlffiE. SÜEP«. SDJEtt^te- Section 20 42 mm. Wfe^fôA. 1&1/MEÄZJ. 7J£S m. ^fc—kZ ZG »Ô2»Bte. WfcMBÄTJ. ZJ2£. » ÎB *£& 42 H. «S W*cï£ftii2. ZG HP. mu mm=èzm. Section 21 42 f*g. xmm&mz.ZM. ms^mmmm- nm. zg %mAA#r0. A A^fôS^W^^B. «^©tfifê. ^ixMfè" 42 WJÜÜ #?fll8k zg wu». M mnm. Section 23 42 #H. s®:£ ^a. ®#iüEAiE®MfT. mm^wm. %m zg mu j$Ate. atw&wfutfrte. mm^rnm. x & 42 m^ZÊ.. Mêmmmmzn. mt a*. :FWìII$»fil*. &W *WM«WWil*. fi* 42 fegt, m si ZG J&fé. Si i#A Ü ^SJHte. Section 25 42 f*W. A Sili IAffi7jc. ^btMh- ZG Sili lAffiTR. mhumn. * 42 ^mxmm. ^nnmm. ^mmmm. ilFFÄBfc. g«ÄA?g£ zg ^SAmtZ. 7JMIM¥9L AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 822 Stephan P. Bumbacher Section 31 42 mm. a«és& ±m. œ m&. s. mtsaam. * ZG m®AAF3. A«ÉS ffc*. S£»JW S. IMP« te 42 SEPteg. ZG gfjjteg. Section 33 42 mm^mmmwä. Swiss, &£j§ ». «wö> zg « w-a«»iä?j. es mm. wmm. mzu. x±n 42 n mz. fom^mmwim. ma. zg A&fmA. sa W2. vsm sh. ffi^st zg mm-z. äa a. tttsfirai. * b. *mm. xra i2äm$p. 42 s. 9®&. îm fM»fira. ihmhr. zg § E3. meiiifwe. xra *g s» t#^aH. «s. jmhdä. a 42 f*s»fi. *«&*& i^im mpjf#^. zg ^ü£. sah. »ìt?W*. SfcCJS®. #ffl3Psp. ilôjff^. Section 22 42 mm. am üss*fe fernst äa«^. fi zg smzxm. Mxn&. %mmft. mmmm. $m 42 #-*. flÄ -. #5c£ßiföl«UI*. zg m~. ^mm -. «A^sìiteiiìtm. Section 8 42 mm. aa mmmn^. m ämüha m. zg a mmm. nmmmxn mm. mm.^mxn 42 inëmi, mmx. mxmm. sbzwm. ttmm w ZG ^MHt. Affig*. S4SH^. 42 h. «üs^f»«^. f*m. mmmx. »ma. &&*g#. hsäaa. ZG 42 m-kmw^xi\m. mmuz. ZG AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 A Buddhist sütra's Transformation into a Daoist Text 823 Section 6 42 mxmmm. ^xizm. &mi. tm&. aaa». mwm&mz. wm ZG 42 asm mme. wjmvlk. nx^m. nmuz^. snm. <$ zg m 42 ?mïï. mt *m. ^ê» ». m? **• « zg ASS#. Ä T#J». Sg WB-M UM» #+. ac*] 42 s K ». u^m &&&*. wMt& ZG #^ «^ va. It is in this main body of the Forty-two sections that the most important differences between the Buddhist and the Daoist versions are seen. First of all, the Daoist version is a recent and direct transmission the gods passed on or, more probably, orally dictated to Yang Xi - as it says right at the beginning: "The Lord Green Youth of [the Isle of] Fangzhu visited [me] and declared [...] (5ÜWaM eï0)". In contrast to the Buddhist version which was an anthology of extracts of Buddhist scriptures made, as the tradition of the initial narrative part has it, by the members of the expedition sent to India by Emperor Xiao Ming. Although Buddhist sütras were regarded as the word of the Buddha which, therefore, represented the ultimate truth, his word was uttered in a different time, in a different country, made for a different audience and was handed down through the vicissitudes of the medium of scriptures. The Daoist version was, on the other hand, a revelation recently made in Southern China by its own gods in a direct encounter with the eye- and ear-witness Yang Xi. This version, therefore, represented the actual truth referring to an actual situation in China proper. As such it was claiming a "higher" truth than, in the Daoists' view, the Buddhist version. Another difference between both versions consists in the sequence of the individual sections. The Daoist version starts with section 35, then follow in this order: 42, 40, 41, 36, 37, 38, 39, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 17, 14, 20, 21, 23, 25, 31, 33, 22, 8, 6. Omitted are the sections 1-3, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 24, 26-30, 32, 34 or seventeen of the original sections. What might have been the reason for their omission? Let us have a look at the first three of those of the forty-two sections which Yang discarded. In section one, a series of definitions of Buddhist "technical" terms is provided: the sramana is described as a follower of the 250 precepts AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 824 Stephan P. Bumbacher who eventually will become an arhat or saint. An arhat represents the highest human being (before attaining nirvana) and is described in similar terms than a Daoist immortal or xian f[I| in that he is "able to fly and assume different forms, lives a long life and can move Heaven and Earth".50 Next come the stages of a "non-returner" anägämin, of a "once-returner" sakrdägämin and of a "stream- winner" srotaäpanna who still has to be reborn seven times before attaining sainthood. Obviously, these are concepts to which Yang Xi did not have Daoist equivalents at hand nor did he want to invent any. As a consequence, he simply disregarded these sections. Moreover, Yang systematically excluded all those sections that deal in one way or another with desire, passion or sexuality (i.e., sections 13, 19, 24 [the Buddha's attempted seduction], 26-30) which, in general, are considered evil according to the Buddhist version. As is well known, for some Daoist traditions sexuality played an important role. The heqi- fnH (merging pneumas) ritual, e.g., was an integral part of the Heavenly Masters' communal life.51 Although Yang Xi relegated carnal knowledge to a minor status, he himself adhered to a higher form of sexuality, that of the hieros gamos, the union with immortals of the opposite sex in a state of trance.52 In view of this, it made no sense to him, to keep to the Buddhists' rejection of sexuality and to retain the relevant passages of the Forty-two sections. Less dramatic are the differences in those sections which Yang Xi accepted but abbreviated in order to only keep those parts that seemed suitable. So, e.g., the beginning of section nine "feeding one hundred common men is not as good as feeding one good man; feeding one thousand good men is not as good as feeding one who observes the five precepts" is kept, but the following passage "feeding ten thousand men who ohserve the five precepts is not as good as feeding one stream-winner; feeding one million stream-winners is not as good as feeding one once-returner [...]" is dropped as, again, it deals with specific Buddhist notions (stream-winner, once-returner etc.) that were of no importance to Yang Xi. The second section describing the Buddhist monks, the sramanas, whose relevant passage reads: "The Buddha said: 'Those who shave their heads and faces are sramanas. They receive the teaching, abandon worldly wealth und possessions, and beg, seeking only what is necessary. Taking a single meal at 50 In general, I adopt Sharf s translation of the main text of the Forty-two sections, cf. Sharf 1996. 51 Maspero 1981:386f., 536-541; Schipper 1982:150-152. 52 Strickmann 1977: lOf. AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 A Buddhist sütra's Transformation into a Daoist Text 825 midday, and lodging a single night under a tree, they take care not to repeat either. [...]'" is accordingly discarded, too. As the Daoists neither shaved their heads nor went around begging for food there was no need to retain this section in the Daoist version of the text. Also, sections concerning the Buddhist philosophy of the constituents of the body and the "I" or personality are dropped like section eighteen: "The Buddha said: 'Ardently contemplate the four primary elements that comprise the body. While each has a name, they are all devoid of self. The [sense of an] T emerges from the aggregate, but it is not long lived and is really but an illusion.'" Small wonder, then, that the Buddhist philosophy of impermanence found no place in the Daoist version. Yang Xi did not include section sixteen which reads: "The Buddha said: 'When gazing at Heaven and Earth contemplate their impermanence. When gazing at mountains and rivers contemplate their imper¬ manence. When gazing at the tremendous variety of shapes and forms of the myriad things in the world contemplate their impermanence. If you keep your mind thus you will attain the Way in no time.'" Not only did Yang Xi leave out phrases that seemed unfit for his purposes, in a few cases he also added sentences of his own. At the end of section forty- two he appended the sentence "only then [I] say [that you] are able to inquire after the Way!" (fê rTÜHIP3jÌ5). To section thirty-six he added: "[It's diffi¬ cult to be born] with [people] who have a good heart of compassion and benevo¬ lence. Even if a good heart is manifest, faith in the Way and [its inherent] power and in long life is difficult. Even [having] faith in the Way and [its inherent] power and in long life, to meet with great peace and a revolution of the [cyclical] year renchen is difficult. [So you] may not exert yourself (WSSfAlIr'ljïtttl. öJ^H/itSc). The "revolution of the year renchen" refers to a specific Daoist apocalyptic notion of the fourth and fifth centuries to which we will return shortly. Here Yang Xi is introducing an important aspect of his Daoist cos¬ mology which plays a vital role elsewhere in his writings. Another important kind of modifications made by Yang Xi was his sub¬ stituting certain Buddhist names and terms by Daoist ones. One example we have already come accross: in the Daoist version it is no longer the Buddha who speaks but a series of Daoist deities and immortals. Furthermore, whereas the second part of section nine is omitted, the first part is kept in the Daoist version but the original expression JvpSflJc^lf chi wujie zhe "somebody who observes the five precepts" is substituted by the term — HxB# yi xue dao zhe "one who AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 826 Stephan P. Bumbacher studies the Way", implying a Daoist disciple. Or elsewhere we find, for ex¬ ample, the term ì'pf*\ shamen for sramana replaced by either —A yi ren "one person"53 or by jyiii: dao shi "Daoist".54 An interesting example is section ten. Here the Buddha - or in the Daoist version: Lady Purple Prime (^7eAA Ziyuan furen) - are defining the "five difficulties" that exist on earth. Whereas both versions agree in the first three of them, namely: "[...] It is difficult for the poor to give alms, it is difficult for the very wealthy to study the Way, it is difficult to control fate and avoid death [...]", the Buddhist version then has: "[...] it is difficult to attain a glimpse ofthe Buddha's sütras, and it is difficult to be born at the time of a Buddha." Yang Xi's version now substitutes {$j$g fo jing "Buddhist sütras" by ffî$& dong jing "Grotto scriptures", Daoist texts that is. In addition, the original sentence "it is difficult to be born at the time of a Buddha" is replaced by the phrase "it is difficult to be born at the time of the Latter Sage of the 3EIp1 renchen [year]." This now clearly refers to the apocalyptic and messianic ideas of the Daoists of the fourth and fifth centuries. The Latter Sage is, as Strickmann and others have shown, a messianic figure to appear in a renchen year when humankind will have been tormented with catastrophies, inundations, famine, fire and, finally, with facing the end of the world and only those will be saved who believe in the Latter Sage and follow his instructions.55 Section thirty-three concerns a Buddhist monk who cherished the idea of returning to secular life. The Buddha seeing it summoned him and discussed the issue. The Buddha is here the still mortal but enlightened being of Hînayâna Buddhism. In the Daoist version it is the Perfected of Most High (AC-hUA Taishang zhenren) who, when apparently a Daoist longed for returning to secu¬ lar life, changed himself into a mortal being and from Heaven directly came down to that man to discuss the situation with him. The mortal Buddha is substi¬ tuted by an immortal Daoist god capable of changing his form at will. (One may ask, however, whether this could have been influenced by the Mahäyänist con¬ cept of a transcendent Buddha capable of assuming every form suitable to help human beings). Another interesting modification made by Yang Xi is seen in section thirty- eight which in the Buddhist version reads: "The Buddha said: 'Should a disciple venture several thousand miles from me yet remain mindful of my precepts, he is 53 Sect. 33. 54 Sect. 41. 55 Strickmann 1979:153-155; Bokenkamp 1997:295-299. AS/E4 LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 A Buddhist sütra's Transformation into a Daoist Text 827 certain to attain the Way.'" In the Daoist version, this is not only uttered by Taishang zhenren instead of the Buddha, but Yang Xi inserts the following phrases: "and if he investigates the 'jade scriptures' and 'treasure books', he is certain to become an immortal." With this additional phrases Yang Xi makes it perfectly clear that the Daoist goal, namely to become an immortal, is entirely different from the Hinayänist goal, to become an arhat who will get out of samsära by entering nirväna or final extinction. However, quite a series of sections remain that show almost no or only very minor changes in Yang Xi's version. Examples are sections 7, 20, 21, 31. Why did Yang Xi preserve them in their original form and did not formulate them anew - especially since he was such a gifted author? He apparently did not only not have the slightest interest to camouflage their provenance, but - quite on the contrary - as the Forty-two sections was already a very well-known text in his own time and as, accordingly, the informed reader would have immediately identified the source, he must have done it deliberately. Why? It was in the Perfected's interest to correct the texts of other religious traditions, works which had been deformed by "premature" or "imperfect transmission". By adopting texts from other traditions they could be taken on one's own board, as it were. A relationship of some sort could thus be established between the other traditions and the own one. However, by having the own gods correcting the other texts the superiority of the own texts over the other versions was made evident - which was just a clever device to show the superiority of the own tradition over the others. 7. Conclusion In order to transform the Buddhist Forty-two sections of Buddhist sütras into a Daoist text, Yang Xi first separated the "preface" or narrative part, which explicitly mentions not only the Buddha but also refers to its own title, from the main body of the text. Then, as we have seen, by a series of modifications he removed or substituted all unequivocal Buddhist aspects that had no Daoist correspondence or could not be utilized to his ends. And, finally, he had several Daoist deities and immortals directly reveal the text to himself. It thus was the gods who bestowed upon him their corrected - which means: Daoist - version of the text whose previous transmission by the Buddha was obviously no longer considered adequate by the gods. Note that the same scheme was already applied AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 828 Stephan P. Bumbacher when the gods revealed to Yang Xi a new and revised version of the Huangting jing if|§|S (Scripture of the Yellow Court) whose original version was a text cherished by the older Daoist tradition of the Celestial Masters.56 In both cases, the original versions, that must have been quite well-known in Yang Xi's time, were neither explicitly criticised nor discarded by him but were simply reduced to a status of lower prestige by the new and "authoritative celestial recensions"57. We may now ask why Yang Xi knew Buddhist texts in the first place. The answer probably lies in the fact that Xu Mi had introduced him to the former King of Guiji, Sima Yu WJfSS. Sima Yu is recorded in the dynastic histories as an ardent patron of Buddhism and qingtan ?jf §& who fervently admired Buddhist monks like the famous Zhi Dun ~3CM. (314-366). Sima Yu, the future emperor Jianwen (r. 371-373), still as King of Langye employed Yang Xi in his own household. This court must be imagined as a place frequented by lots of Buddhists. If not already before, then Yang Xi must have come into contact with Buddhist scriptures during his service at Sima Yu's court at the latest. It was probably here that he has seen the original Forty-two sections ofBuddhist sütras. It may be interesting to note in this context that Yang Xi placed some historically high-ranking officials and generals of the early fourth century with wellknown Buddhist sympathies or relations into his shangqing _h-/ff ([Heaven of] Highest Clarity) pantheon as officials of the Daoist nether world. Examples are the sometime president of the 'board of civil office', Zhou Yi Jt||hÌ (269- 322), or the 'generalissimo of the central army', Yin Hao WiìxS (306-356), or the 'general protecting the army', Feng Huai M'Wi (A- 340).58 Furthermore - as Isabelle Robinet already had observed - some of the im¬ mortals made known by Yang Xi had first been Buddhists themselves or had Buddhists as their disciples.59 Lord Pei, Perfected Immortal of Qingling, origi¬ nally came from a Buddhist family and in his early years was educated by a Buddhist monk. Later, when he had become a Daoist, he had Buddhist disciples as had Zhou Yishan, the Perfected of Ziyang. This cannot be by mere chance. Rather, by the time when Yang Xi acted as a private medium and religious spe¬ cialist on behalf of the Xu family - a family of high-ranking officials -, Bud¬ dhism had already taken firm root in at least the upper classes of the southern Chinese society. Yang Xi who, as we have seen, also worked for a ruler with 56 Schipper 1975:8-10. 57 Strickmann 1977:10. 58 Robinet 1984,1:87. 59 Loc. cit. AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 A Buddhist sütra's Transformation into a Daoist Text 829 Buddhist interests, had to take this into account. As a Daoist introducing a new denomination that distinguished itself from the Celestial Masters' tradition on the one hand and Buddhism on the other, he could not openly criticise Bud¬ dhism. However, by introducing immortals who had started as Buddhists but later turned Daoists he indirectly made clear that his Daoist denomination was superior. It was precisely to this end that he took in the Buddhist text Forty-two sections of Buddhist sütras and had it revealed by members of his Daoist pan¬ theon in a revised form, which means, had it transformed into a superior Daoist text. From a Buddhological point of view it is interesting to note that - as our analysis has shown - highly praised early sources such as the Hongming ji must be handled with care as they may not preserve the original versions of the texts they contain. In this respect we also have seen at least one instance of Sengyou's Chu sanzang ji ji containing modified versions of the texts it quotes. Thus, Daoist adaptations of Buddhist scriptures may be used to emend the Buddhist originals. References Primary sources Chu sanzang jiji tBH^IHÄ 755.2145. Daodejing tÊWM ed. SBBY. Gaoseng zhuan îiîftff 750.2059. Guang hong ming ji MBk^M 752.2103. Hongmingji AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 830 Stephan P. Bumbacher Secondary sources Bokenkamp, Stephen R. 2004 "The Silkwork and the bodhi Tree: The Lingbao Attempt to Replace Buddhism in China and our Attempt to Place Lingbao Taoism." In: John LAGERWEY (ed.), Religion and Chinese society. Volume I: Ancient and medieval China. 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